


Before The Sun Rises

by JayTyHeyBye



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: First Meetings, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Julian is 18, M/M, Muriel is 15, Pre-Canon, Prequel, Soft Boys, This is garbage but ily so, Younger Julian, Younger Muriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19099186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayTyHeyBye/pseuds/JayTyHeyBye
Summary: This was initially a birthday gift for someone who ended up stabbing me in the back, so in petty fashion, I’m keeping it up and changing the description ever so slightly. Anyways! Here is a short fic of our two favourite boys pre canon, when Julian was travelling around as a Pirate/studying medicine and trying his BEST.





	Before The Sun Rises

Julian had probably stayed at the Rowdy Raven longer than he should have. His ship left at sunrise the next morning, and the teenager knew he’d be getting no sleep now. It was best to head to the docks and wait the hour or two for the sun to peak over the horizon.

He downed the rest of his drink, doing everything in his power not to make a disgusted face at the burning liquid sliding down his throat. Salty Bitters, the bartender called it. Gross. 

Julian gathered his bag and left the bar, the sound of music becoming muffled as soon as the door shut behind him. It was late. No one was in the streets. The people of Vesuvia were asleep in their beds, dreaming peacefully. It gave Julian some room to himself. He strode down the middle of the street, the heels on his boots clicking against the cobblestone streets. 

The young man whistled the tune from the bar under his breath, though it soon morphed into the gentle melody of the song the other pirates sang during late nights on the ship.

Some days, Julian wondered what the point of being a pirate was. Late nights, little food, little to no warmth, packed cabins. Truthfully, it was the adventure. The experience. It was the fastest way Ilya could study medicine and have it stick. He was never one for actual, practical studying. Hands on work was much more exciting. 

For example, in the heat of a raid, he’d helped a soldier who’s arm had been practically severed. You couldn’t learn that sort of thing in a book. 

Julian was getting to the edge of the South End when he heard soft, distant sniffling. The young man stopped in his tracks, the whistle dying out and dissolving into nothing. Grey eyes darted around the street, finally landing on a nearby alleyway. Old barrels and crates were pushed up against the brick walls, and there was definitely something (or someone) hiding behind them. He could see small feet sticking out from behind one of the crates. Looking to the edge of the alley, he saw an abandoned green blanket, stained with little droplets of blood. 

Julian glanced around him, then took a hesitant step towards the alley. Then another, and another. As many as it took until he could bend down and pick up the little green blanket. It was soft, with little patches attached to cover holes. 

“Hello?” He called out into the alley, and Julian hated how his voice wavered. He wasn’t scared. No, definitely not. It was just a dark, creepy alley in the middle of the night. Nothing scary about that.

Whatever (or whoever) was in the alley sucked in a sharp breath, and Julian knew he couldn’t just stand there.

Another step brought him into the alley, and then another. Finally, he’d rounded the corner.

The sight in front of him broke his heart.

There was a young boy, couldn’t be older than 15, cowering behind the crate. There was a large gash in his shoulder that was bleeding freely down his arm. The boy had tears rolling down his cheeks, and he was shaking like a leaf. At the sight of Julian, he seemed to only curl in on himself more.

“Hey, hey...it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. Is this yours?” He gestured to the blanket. For a moment, the young boy didn’t move. Green eyes finally locked on the blanket, and the boy gave a slow nod. Okay, it was a start.

“You’ve got a pretty bad scratch there, kiddo. Can I-?” He reached out, but the young boy flinched away from his touch. Fuck, okay. He was going to have to think about this. If he didn’t treat that cut, it would get infected. 

Julian pulled back his hand and dug through the bag over his shoulder. He didn’t have much. Gauze, mostly. Some thread and a needle that he DEFINITELY used for medicine, not for that one time he got a rip in his coat and had to fix it. Okay, he could make this work.

“I’m not going to hurt you, love. I’m...I’m a doctor. I can help patch up that arm of yours, if you want. That’s gotta be pretty painful, huh?” He offered the boy a warm smile that was not returned. 

A fresh wave of tears fell down the boy’s face.

“Hurts...” was all Julian got in response. 

“I can help patch you up, but you’ve gotta trust me. Think you can do that for me?” He scooted slightly closer and, though it was obvious he wanted to, the boy didn’t flinch away. Julian took that as a yes to continue. 

He bundled up the green blanket and held it out to the boy, who practically snatched it from him. 

“Put that in your mouth, okay? I’m gonna have to give you stitches. I don’t want you biting your tongue.” 

The boy had started to tremble even more (though Julian didn’t know how that was possible), but did as told. He stuffed a part of the blanket in his mouth and bit down on it. Julian pulled the supplies out of his bag and got to work. The entire time he was giving the boy stitches, he felt awful. He’d been given stitches without anaesthetic before. It fucking hurt. The boy was making soft whimpering noises, biting down on the blanket like his life depended on it. 

What probably took 5 minutes felt like an eternity to Julian. When he finally finished up, he was quick to wrap the wound in gauze and tie it off.

“There we go, all done. You did so good, kid. One of the best patients I’ve ever had.” Julian pushed himself to his feet and brushed the dirt off his pants. Then, being as careful as he could, he helped the boy to his feet. The boy wavered for a minute, but managed to stay steady. Julian was able to take the blanket from the boy and wrap it around his shoulders for extra warmth, only to hesitate a moment later. 

Julian shrugged the jacket off his shoulders and wrapped that around the boy, too.

“You got somewhere you’re staying, kid? I could walk you-”

“No! Nowhere. Nowhere.” The sudden outburst from the kid had Julian jumping. He’d been in this kid’s situation before. There probably was somewhere, with someone else (probably another kid) that he just didn’t want Julian to know about. It was understandable.

“That’s okay, buddy. That’s alright. Can you at least tell me your name?” 

The boy had fallen silent, but shook his head. Fuck, they were back to the silent treatment. Being a Doctor really was a thankless job. 

“Alright...great. Well, keep that wound clean, kid. Don’t let it get infected.” Julian swung his bag back over his shoulder while simultaneously making his way to the end of the alley. 

A small, shaky voice from behind him had the 18 year old stopping.

“Muriel. My...my name is Muriel.”

He glanced over his shoulder to see the boy staring at the ground so intently, cheeks flushed red. 

“Julian.” 

Without another word, Julian disappeared out of the alley and back out into the city streets.


End file.
